Growing Pains

Growing pains

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Growing pains are being felt all over the world. From global inequality, food waste, electoral inefficiencies and the preponderance of polarised media. These problems have always existed in some capacity, however, the power of voice has emerged as an astute, and often grating, force through the means of technology. This is not a revelation and it is obvious that the power of voice will only multiply as human innovation capitalises on itself.

While the idea of expanding technology and human voice is not new, we continue to only embrace the power of uninterrupted noise – the single abrasive tweet and the high-and-mighty Facebook post that leaves people in tatters for approximately three seconds until they move onto the next latent opinion in the never-ending stream of collective human consciousness that is social media.

While the voice painfully swells through the advances in social networks, the power of action lags in comparison as we continue to accept outdated modes of democratic representation, such as e-voting and consistent communication with our representatives. The sustained acceptance of voice without action creates a notion that change must be pursued by a nebulous group of “really powerful people that will change things”.

However, the truth is that the “really powerful group of people” does exist, but it’s not the illuminati; it’s not Rupert Murdoch; it’s not Oprah Winfrey. The really powerful group of people is the you and the me. Revitalising democracy so that it performs as a state-of-the art platform for change will provide the opportunity to realise this truth.

If you don’t accept lackluster performance from your iPhone, why would you consent to a consistently floundering democracy?

We are ready for Democracy 2.0 that embraces the voice, as well as the action. So, reject the passive acceptance of 19th century process and demand a revitalisation in the system that determines the trajectory of our collective lives.